How do you deal with archaeologists? Kristina Smith discovers that for the put-upon project manager, the discovery of ancient artefacts — from roman plaques to medieval ships — rarely makes for plain sailing
2002 has been a great year for British archaeologists. In July in South Wales, a team uncovered the remains of a 15th century sailing boat - hailed as the city’s answer to the Mary Rose. And in October in Southwark, London, a dig unearthed a beautifully preserved Roman plaque dated 150AD – with an inscription that makes the earliest physical reference to London ever found.

News of these discoveries has spread around the world – the Southwark dig even made column inches in the Los Angeles Times. But behind the headlines are other stories: construction projects which are going on around and above archaeological investigations, and project managers battling to keep their jobs on time, to budget and accident-free.

A decade ago, the mention of an archaeological dig would have struck horror into the heart of any project manager: a bunch of bearded boffins about to descend onto the site, causing delays and making the programme slip?

Understandably, this image is one that today’s professional archaeologists are keen to dispel. “We are construction industry professionals,” says Gary Brown, managing director of archaeological contractor Preconstruct Archaeology. “We are facilitating development and part of the development process.”

So, should you treat archaeologists like any other subcontractor then? Not exactly. As the advice below shows, there are some special considerations for a site manager when these very specialist contractors are working on site. But as the two recent finds reveal, it is often the project manager who is left picking up the pieces – often literally – of these ‘glamorous’ archaeological operations. After discussing the issue with construction managers and archaeologists, we compiled the following tips.

I
Be responsible: In the unlikely case that you do unearth something. PPG16 (the planning guidance note which covers archaeology), introduced in 1990, states that all sites should be assessed for the likelihood of finds pre-construction. However, as John Dillon, operations director at Wessex Archaeology says: “Legally you don’t have to do anything. But there is an obligation for all of us to recognise our past and not needlessly destroy it. It’s not ours to destroy. It belongs to all of us.”

II
Be sensitive: You may be excited about what has emerged from your site, but let your client decide whether or not to talk to the press. When the Newport boat was uncovered, Newport County Borough Council was very clear that it wanted to handle all publicity issues.

III
Fence ‘em in: Although archaeological contractors usually work directly for the client, their safety is your responsibility if you are principal contractor. You may need to agree a specific safety plan for them, and your operatives need to be made aware of the archaeologists and vice versa. If possible, segregate the area where they are working.

IV
Liaise: “Involve an archaeologist,” says Nansi Rosenberg, the senior archaeological consultant at EC Harris overseeing the Southwark job. “Get them in the project meetings and keep them informed. Let them know what you need in order to progress your project.” p

V
Make time: Allow a gap between the end of the evaluation period (archaeological trial pits) and bringing on plant. “It is frustrating when the planning authority demands more investigations and plant is left standing,” says Preconstruct managing director Gary Brown.

VI
Trust them: They are the experts and they know what they are doing. “It may seem like a very uncertain thing, but we deal with it every day. We are on huge construction projects. We do it all the time,” says Dillon.

VII
Help them do their job: “The important thing is to understand why they are there and what they need to get their job done. Then to help them do it and get out,” says Richard Pike, winner of the 2002 Building Manager of the Year Award, who saw archaeologists remove 1,400 bodies from his National Ice Centre job in Nottingham.

VIII
Be flexible: Expect the unexpected. Desk studies indicated that Berkeley Homes’ Southwark site had been ‘backlands’, gardens or yard areas. In fact, along with the Roman plaque, the archaeologists are uncovering indications of a Roman building.

IX
Think about visitors: The public viewed the Newport ship in the evenings. Martin Harnett, project manager at Southwark, would prefer his visitors at weekends: “It would be best to have any parties of visitors on a Saturday when the piling rigs are not working.”

The archaeologist who unearths historical treasure such as the Newport boat or the Southwark plaque can expect to see his name in the history books. Italian Ireneo Grosso, a Preconstruct archaeologist, was the one to uncover the plaque in Southwark. His MD Gary Brown puts it into perspective: “I would have killed to find something like that. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

But the project manager organising the site where such a discovery is made will just get on with the job. Having archaeologists on site is another of the many challenges he or she will face over the lifetime of a project. Plan it, programme it, supervise it and then move on.

But don’t expect to see your name in the Los Angeles Times.

Case study 1: The challenge of the past: London discovers itself

Berkeley Homes thought the Roman tablet was fabulous from a marketing point of view, but it did introduce some construction challenges. Martin Harnett is project manager for groundworks contractor Coinford Construction on the Southwark site. While archaeologists hail the plaque as “the most important inscription ever found in London”, he’s got to carry on with secant piling the perimeter of the huge corner site. He was ready for the archaeologists because the groundworks and archaeology packages were planned to run together. But he has had to plan carefully to keep the masters of the past from injury as they carry out their work on a big, dangerous site. Two huge piling rigs, earthmoving plant and 40-plus archaeologists make for a potentially disastrous mix. He split up the site into areas, producing detailed plans and access routes. Dig areas and access are fenced off so that the archaeologists and pilers cannot come into contact. The dig has also slowed everything down. Harnett’s plant operatives work with the archaeologist to remove upper layers of earth before it is time for hand-digging. Even though precision digging is no big deal for a skilled plant operative, it took a while for the men to adjust to the pace. “It is a lot slower than we would actually work,” he said. But ultimately, this meticulous planning and time-consuming work looks likely to pay off. The investigation has unearthed much more than initial reports suggested. Objects, strata and marks in the earth are allowing the experts to piece together the history of this piece of land back through time. For Berkeley Homes, the headline-grabbing plaque is a feather in the cap of its 521-apartment development, which will cost £85m to build. The company is already looking into the possibility of casting a replica plaque, perhaps to stand in the huge public plaza in the centre of the development. “I would like to see some of the relics on display in reception,” muses Nick Stonley, managing director of Berkeley Homes (City & East London). Relics, of course, pull punters.

Case study 2: Welsh rare boat: unearthing a 15th century ship

In July in South Wales, Newport County Borough Council faced some difficult decisions about how best to exploit its own historical haul. A 15th century ship, buried under the planned site for £12m theatre and arts complex on the banks of the River Usk, raised some complex – and emotive – issues. With no money to pay for a full excavation, should the council just leave the ship where it was, and concrete over the top? Although there was an architect on site to watch as the work progressed (a planning condition known as a ‘watching brief’), no one could have guessed that the site was hiding such an exciting secret. But once the ship had come to light, local campaigners under the banner ‘Save our Ship’, spurred on by countless articles in the South Wales Argus, were adamant that it should be saved and preserved. The council battled – successfully – for support from the Welsh National Assembly and will spend nearly £3.5m to pay for delays to the construction project and the raising, timber preservation and display of the ship. Behind the scenes and the publicity it is Willmott Dixon subsidiary Construction Turner that has been coping with the practical implications of the find. Among the disruptions that project director Don Bowles had to accommodate were two public viewing evenings and a three-week downtime while the ship was lifted out. Only now do Bowles and his team have a green light as they work to accommodate a massive design change. Success for the Save our Ship campaigners has meant that the arts complex will now have a purpose-designed basement under a glass ground floor to display the huge ancient relic. The price? £1.36m and a six-month delay to the end of construction.

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Construction Manager